- Push-out Score determined
- After about six years in the position
- Accolades, praise and thanks for Burke
- Search for a successor
- Burke said 80 words
(exechange) — Los Angeles, California, November 22, 2019 — Mike Burke, chief executive of Aecom, leaves. As announced by Aecom in a news release on Friday, November 22, 2019, Michael S. (Mike) Burke leaves his post as chief executive officer at the engineering firm after about six years in the role.
Among the 3,000 largest publicly held companies incorporated in the U.S. based on market capitalization, the average tenure of the CEOs who announced their departure over the past 12 months was 7.4 years, according to data compiled by exechange.
The Board will initiate a CEO succession process, with Burke continuing in his role as Chairman and CEO until a successor is identified by or prior to Aecom’s 2020 Annual Meeting of Shareholders.
“Agreement with Starboard Value”
A reason for Mike Burke’s departure from the CEO post was not explicitly provided. Aecom said: “Aecom (NYSE:ACM), the world’s premier infrastructure firm, today announced a governance agreement with Starboard Value LP (together with its affiliates, “Starboard”), an investment firm and shareholder of the Company, which provides for the appointment of three new independent directors recommended by Starboard, including Starboard Managing Member, Peter A. Feld, to the Aecom Board of Directors.”
Precise information regarding Mike Burke’s future plans was not immediately available.
“Retire”
Aecom said: “Michael S. Burke, Aecom Chairman and CEO, has also notified the Board that he intends to retire.”
Share price increase since March 2014
The announcement follows an increase in Aecom’s share price of 32% since March 2014.
In the position of CEO since 2014
Mike Burke became CEO of the Company in March 2014.
Michael S. Burke was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Company and was elected to the Board in March 2014.
In March 2015, Burke was appointed Chairman of the Board.
He previously served as President of Aecom from October 2011 to March 2014, Chief Financial Officer from December 2006 to September 2011 and Executive Vice President from May 2006 to September 2011.
He also served as Chief Corporate Officer from May 2006 to January 2009.
Burke joined Aecom as Senior Vice President, Corporate Strategy, in October 2005.
From 1990 to 2005, Burke was with the accounting firm KPMG LLP. He served in various senior leadership positions, including as a Western Area Managing Partner from 2002 to 2005 and as a member of KPMG LLP’s Board of Directors from 2000 through 2005.
While on the KPMG Board of Directors, Burke served as the Chairman of the Board Process and Governance Committee and was a member of the Audit and Finance Committee.
Burke currently serves as a director at Archer-Daniels-Midland Company and on the Board of Directors for Children’s Bureau, which helps at-risk children through state-of-the-art child abuse prevention and treatment services.
Burke is also chair of the US Business Roundtable’s Infrastructure Committee and co-chair of the World Economic Forum’s Infrastructure and Urban Development Community.
Additionally, he served on the Board of Directors of Rentech Nitrogen Partners L.P. and Rentech Inc. until April 2016 and June 2017, respectively, as well as on the Board of Directors for LA 2028, the committee responsible for bringing the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games to Los Angeles.
Push-out Score determined
The Push-out Score™ determined by exechange gauges the pressure surrounding the management change on a scale of 0 to 10.
exechange reached out to Aecom and offered the company the opportunity to comment on the score.
Read the full story in the exechange report 47.2019 ($).